Perceptibility of large and sequential changes in somatosensory information during leaning forward and backward when standing

11 healthy young men served as subjects in two experiments on perceptibility of (1) large changes in foot pressure and muscle activity induced by body leaning and (2) sequential changes in pressure at the first toe and the head of the first metatarsalis when leaning forward. The effects of reduced sensitivity on that perceptibility were also studied by repeating the experiments while cooling localized plantar areas of the sole (the head of the first metatarsalis, the first toe, and the heel). Under the normal (noncooled) condition, all subjects accurately perceived maximum pressure at the head of the first metatarsalis, but most subjects misperceived the second large increase in pressure at the first toe and in muscle activity as the first large increase. Under the cooling condition, localized cooling did not affect the perceptibility of maximum pressure at the head of the first metatarsalis or the activity in the tibialis anterior, but the perceptibility of pressure at the first toe and activity of the abductor hallucis were reduced. There were individual differences in perceptibility of activity of the rectus femoris when the heel was cooled. Perceptibility of sequential changes in the pressure was affected differently by the localized cooling of each region. Given these findings, we discussed the role and interrelatedness of pressure sensation in perceiving large and sequential changes in somatosensory information while standing and leaning forward and backward.     

Postural movement pattern and muscle action sequence associated with self-paced bilateral arm flexion during standing

Investigated were postural movement pattern and action sequence of postural muscles while subjects rapidly flexed both arms during standing. The arm movement was started at the subject's own pace. Subjects were healthy individuals; 48 men and 53 women. Postural movement pattern was classified based on the movement angles of foot-leg (ankle joint) and leg-trunk (hip joint). Electromyograms were recorded from the anterior deltoid, biceps femoris, and erector spinae. The time difference between action onsets of the latter two muscles and the anterior deltoid was analyzed. Movement angles of the ankle and hip for both sexes were distributed on a similar linear regression line (y = -2.092x - 2.552 (r = -.71). The postural movement pattern was categorized based on the distribution into three types: hip flexion (in the 2nd quadrant), backward leaning (the 3rd), and hip extension (the 4th). The proportion of subjects was 26% in the hip flexion type, 55% in backward leaning type, and 19% in hip extension type. The action of biceps femoris and erector spinae significantly preceded that of anterior deltoid in the backward leaning and hip extension types but did not in the hip flexion type.     

The Church is Permanently Underway

This article examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the unity of the human community in Japan, specifically Tokyo, where the 2020 Olympic Games have been postponed until 2021. This allows reflection on the issue of ecclesiology during this time of uncertainty. First, the article describes the critical response of the ecumenical leaders to the country’s first-ever declaration of a state of emergency. Second, it reflects upon the impact of the compulsion to conform to intolerant social order and the neoliberal “self-responsibility theory” that abandons the most vulnerable in society. Third, it explores the relationship between Tokyo and the Olympics, which has been inextricably linked to the aim of national unity. Finally, this article draws the conclusion that we must steer clear of any “unity” that conceals a deeper disunity. Therefore, the church must distance itself from both the “self-responsibility theory” and the enthusiasm of nationalism and instead work toward the restoration of the human community and the renewal of the church, which are currently the main issues of concern.     

Relative deprivation and educational aspirations of 15-year-old adolescents in Japan

Social Psychology of Education - Higher education increases the likelihood of a healthy and successful life. This study investigated the association between relative deprivation and aspiration for...     

Effects of anticipation certainty on preparatory brain activity and anticipatory postural adjustments associated with voluntary unilateral arm movement while standing

We examined the effects of anticipation certainty concerning which voluntary movement is required in response to a stimulus while standing on preparatory brain activity and anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs). Ten right-handed adults abducted their left or right arm rapidly in response to a visual imperative stimulus, based on the type of stimulus. A warning cue, which did or did not contain information about the side of arm abduction, was presented 2000ms before the imperative stimulus. Preparatory brain activity before arm abduction was quantified by the mean amplitude of the contingent negative variation 100ms before the imperative stimulus (late CNV amplitude). Compared with the low anticipation condition, in the high anticipation condition the following results were obtained only in the case of right arm abduction: (1) larger late CNV amplitude, (2) earlier postural muscle activities with respect to the focal muscle of arm abduction, and (3) smaller peak displacement of center of pressure during the abduction. These findings suggest that high anticipation of voluntary movement of dominant arm to a stimulus while standing influences preparatory brain activity before the movement, resulting in earlier APAs and thus smaller disturbance of postural equilibrium during the movement.     

How Religious Studies is Taught in Japan

This essay is part of a collection of short essays solicited from authors around the globe who teach religion courses at the college level (not for professional religious training). They are published together with an introduction in Teaching Theology and Religion 18:3 (July 2015). The authors were asked to provide a brief overview of the curriculum, student learning goals, and pedagogical techniques employed in their courses.     

On Qualifying Religious Literacy: Recent Debates on Higher Education and Religious Studies in Japan

This article describes and analyzes controversies in Japan brought about by an intercollegiate educational project on religion. The project team, consisting of selected members of the Japanese Association for Religious Studies and the Japanese Association for the Study of Religion and Society, has been planning a new system for qualifying undergraduates as “specialists in religious cultures” (shūkyō‐bunkasi). It is anticipated that students with this qualification will be engaged in various occupations that require knowledge of different cultures. The project reflects an increased awareness that the academic study of religion should play a social role and be recognized as worthwhile by the public. This article will focus upon the academic and pedagogical challenges that the project members faced in the process of planning a system to assess and qualify students’ literacy in religious traditions. It will argue that religious literacy involves the dynamic ability to put knowledge into practice as well as to reflect continuously upon previously acquired knowledge.     

Perception of large change in distribution of heel pressure during backward leaning

We investigated the perception of the large change in distribution of heel pressure during backward leaning. Subjects were 12 healthy adults who reported perceiving a large change in distribution of heel pressure by a handheld switch while leaning voluntarily backward on a sole pressure analyzer and on a heel force plate. The large change was indicated at the center of heel pressure. Morphological features of the foot were measured on an X-ray film. The position of heel pressure center and the morphological locations were represented as relative distance (%) from the hindmost point of the heel, where foot length represented 100%. Center of heel pressure changed largely during backward leaning, and the position at which large change occurred was the same as that of the peak of the distribution. Large change in distribution of heel pressure was perceived at a position 1.3% posterior from that at which the large change actually occurred. The correlation between perceived and actual positions was significant (r = .91). Significant correlations were found between position of a large change of center and locations of heel pressure of both the lateral process of the calcaneal tuberosity and the top of the talar trochlea (r = .86; r = .71, respectively). The results indicate that subjects accurately perceive large changes in distribution of heel pressure and that the morphological features of the foot contribute to these changes.     

Perceived standing position after reduction of foot-pressure sensation by cooling the sole

We investigated the influence of the reduction of foot-pressure sensation by cooling the sole of the foot, at 1 degree C for 30 or 40 minutes, on the perception of standing position varied in the anteroposterior direction. The subjects were 16 healthy undergraduates. Firstly, for 4 of the subjects, cooling the sole of the foot decreased sensory information from the mechanoreceptors in the sole, by testing for an increase in the threshold for two-point discrepancy discrimination on the sole of the foot and for the disappearance of postural change with vibration to the sole. Next, the perception of standing position was measured by reproduction of a given standing reference position involving forward or backward leaning under both normal and cooled conditions of the feet. Standing position was varied in relation to the location of the center of foot pressure, defined as distance from the heel in percentage of the length of the foot. The reference positions, representing various locations of the center of foot pressure, were set at 10% increments from 20% to 80% of the length of the foot. With eyes closed, the subject first experienced the reference position and then attempted to reproduce it. The mean location of the center of foot pressure in the quiet standing posture was 45.7%. At the 40%, 50%, and 60% reference positions, those closest to quiet standing, absolute errors of reproduction were significantly larger than at other reference positions in both the normal and the cooled conditions. They were significantly larger in the cooled than in the normal condition. The 50% and 60% reference positions were reproduced significantly further forward in the cooled than in the normal condition. These results may be explained as due to an absence of marked changes in sensory information from both muscular activity and foot pressure when moving to reference positions close to the quiet standing posture.